Palestine on Monday condemned an Israeli plan to build 473 new settlement units southeast of Jerusalem.

"The Israeli government is racing against time to implement the largest possible number of settlement projects," the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The settlement escalation comes days after the UN General Assembly adopted resolutions on the Palestinian issue, Jerusalem and the solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," it added.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli media reported that Israel's government is advancing a new Jerusalem neighborhood. The new settlement, which will be named Givat Shaked, would encroach on the Palestinian quarter of Beit Safafa, which is already suffering from a dire housing shortage.

Israeli settlement is one of the thorniest issues in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and one of the main reasons for derailing the last round of direct peace negotiations between the two sides.

(With input from Xinhua)